Chelsea captain Reece James thinks he has finally turned a corner when it comes to his fitness and is ready to lead the Blues into their Premier League match against Bournemouth on Saturday. After losing to Leeds United in the middle of the week, the west London club will be looking to get back to winning ways at the Vitality Stadium. They had been unbeaten in seven games across all competitions.
James missed the loss at Elland Road, but he played well in the previous game, a 1-1 draw against league leaders Arsenal at Stamford Bridge. He notably played in the midfield instead of his usual defensive position.
The academy graduate has already played 17 times for Chelsea in the 2025/26 season. Before the midweek rotation, he had played in every league match, indicating he is much more available than in previous seasons.
James thinks that playing regularly has been very important for his confidence after years of starting and stopping:
“I feel very strong at the moment, playing consistently helps a lot. Start and stop, with the injuries, it’s hard to find a rhythm. Good form and good performances come from consistency and being available week in, week out. I’m finally stringing a decent period together.”
James said that thinking about the hard road to recovery has helped him understand his physical limits better now:
“I wouldn’t say there’s much difference in what I’m doing now. I just think I understand my body a lot better now than maybe two years ago. For sure it was it was tough.
“It was a long period with many set-backs, a lot of disappointment, and at the time it’s difficult to look past it and understand it. I think it’s definitely had a positive effect, even though it was a negative situation.”
The Chelsea captain added:
“It was just about time. Time and understanding mistakes. I learned things throughout – different rehabs, how to do things, what helped, what didn’t help. Just trying to piece the puzzle together, I guess. It’s getting there now.”
Reece James has dealt with injury problems at Chelsea
Reece James’ recent run of games is even more impressive given the severe injuries he has dealt with in the past. He often had to stop making progress because of recurring knee and hamstring problems, which made it hard for him to wear the captain’s armband all the time.
The situation got terrible during the 2023/24 season when the defender had surgery in Finland in December 2023 to fix a hamstring problem that wouldn’t go away.
That procedure kept him out of many games that season. In fact, he missed more than 30 games that season alone. James has missed more than 100 competitive games for Chelsea since breaking into the first team due to fitness issues, but he has been in great form since late 2025.